The Ultimate Groomswear Style Glossary

There's no denying it - shopping for groomswear can be exceedingly confusing, particularly if you've never bought a suit before, or have only purchased casual separates on the high street. If the terms "notched lapel" and "wing tip collar" mean literally nothing to you, don't worry! All you need is a quick briefing of some intermediate-to-advanced menswear terms and you're ready to pick out the wedding day look of your dreams! Our groomswear style glossary will help you articulate exactly what you're looking for, so you can be confident when you walk into the menswear store too buy the all-important suit!

David O'Connor of Louis Copeland & Sons believes that a groomswear look should be a collaboration between the groom-to-be and the wedding specialist at his menswear store. "It's important that he communicates clearly what he has in mind, this should include the way he wants the suit to fit as well as the pattern and style." He's kindly agreed to give us a hand with our groomswear style glossary, fleshing out some of the terminology with some handy hints and tips. So let's get started!

Tailoring Terms: Bespoke Vs Made-To Measure, and Off-The-Rack

Bespoke suit - a suit made from a brand new pattern, created to fit your specific measurements. "This is usually a very lengthy and expensive process," David explains. "Most customers now favour Made-to-Measure instead as it doesn't take as long, isn't as expensive and gives the same great result."

Made-to-Measure suit - a suit made using an existing pattern, but created to fit your specific measurements.

Ready-to-wear or off-the-rack suit - a ready-made suit that comes in a selection of sizes and must be altered to achieve the correct fit.

Suit separates - when a suit's jacket and trousers are sold separately, and may be different colours and fabrics. A great option for casual affairs.

Fabric: Tweed, Velvet, and Worsted

Flecked fabric - a fabric with small marks or spots in a contrasting colour.

Pin-stripe - a fine white vertical stripe made up of small white dot.

Wool, cashmere and cotton - the three most popular fabrics for suits, all of which are versatile and smart. Wool is good for colder weather, while cotton is breathable for summer. Cashmere is the most luxurious of the three.

Velvet - a closely woven fabric of silk, cotton, or nylon, that has a thick short pile on one side for a luxurious and vintage look.

Linen - an extremely lightweight fabric woven from flax, perfect for a warm-weather wedding. Be warned, it creases easily!

Check - a pattern of modified stripes consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines forming squares, which can be large or small. "Subtly patterned suits are becoming more popular," David says, "especially subtle checks and small houndstooth patterns."

Houndstooth - a zig zag or broken check pattern used mostly on tweeds. Smaller versions are called dogstooth and puppytooth.

Suits: Dinner Suits v Tuxedos and Morning Dress

Dinner suit or black tie - a formal dark suit worn with a white shirt and a black bow tie.

Tuxedo - same as above, but with satin facing on the lapels, buttons, pocket trim, and a satin side stripe down the leg of the trousers. "Tuxedos seem to be growing in popularity too, but not the traditional black tux," David tells us. "As an alternative, grooms are choosing a midnight navy or even royal blue tuxedoes."

Morning dress - a very formal daytime suit comprising a jacket with tails (known as a morning coat), trousers (usually pinstripe) and a waistcoat.

Single-breasted jacket - a jacket with one column of buttons and a narrow overlap of fabric.

Double-breasted jacket - a jacket with a wider overlap and two parallel rows of buttons.

Vent - a slit on the back of a blazer. Very slim-fitting jackets have none, some have a single vent in the centre to give you a bit more room to move around, while the roomiest jackets have double vents.

Suppressed waist - the effect when a jacket is tailored in to fit the waist, rather than falling straight down from the arms.

Gauntlet cuff or turnback cuffs - a narrow turnback at the wrist, usually with a curved edge.

Fused - when the interlinings that are glued to the jacket’s shell. One of the cheaper construction techniques.

Canvassed - when a separate interlining is sewn to the fabric. This allows the suit fabric to drape naturally, creating a clean, polished look, but tends to result in a more expensive suit.